They Came to Cordura
| They Came to Cordura | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Robert Rossen |
| Produced by | William Goetz |
| Written by |
Ivan Moffat Robert Rossen Glendon Swarthout (novel) |
| Starring |
Gary Cooper Rita Hayworth Van Heflin Dick York |
| Music by | Elie Siegmeister |
| Cinematography | Burnett Guffey |
| Edited by | William A. Lyon |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
|
Release date
|
June 1959 |
|
Running time
|
123 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2.5 million (est. US/ Canada rentals) |
They Came to Cordura is a 1959 Western film co-written and directed by Robert Rossen, starring Gary Cooper and Rita Hayworth, and featuring Van Heflin, Tab Hunter, Richard Conte, Michael Callan, and Dick York. It was based on a 1958 novel by Glendon Swarthout.
In 1916, as U.S. soldiers chase after Pancho Villa, Army Major Thomas Thorn (Gary Cooper) is assigned to be a battlefield observer and reward heroism. He has been suggested for this duty by a Colonel Rogers (Robert Keith), who is 63 years old and impatiently yearning to be promoted to general before mandatory retirement a few months hence.
Rogers leads his regiment in an old-fashioned but poorly planned Cavalry charge on Ojos Azules, a villa owned by Adelaide Geary (Rita Hayworth) where Villa's men withdrew after a victory over Mexican government troops, enjoying her hospitality. Thorn, excused from the fighting, observes through his binoculars various acts of heroism by Lt. Fowler (Tab Hunter), Sgt. Chawk (Van Heflin), Cpl. Trubee (Richard Conte) and Pvt. Renziehausen (Dick York) in defeating Villa's men.
Rogers is proud of having personally led the charge, but furious when Thorn won't nominate him for a citation. Thorn insists that leading his regiment in the charge was "in the line of duty" and refuses to consider a citation for the Medal of Honor, awarded for heroism "above and beyond the call of duty." Rogers reminds Thorn that he protected him from an investigation for cowardice, which he did out of respect for Thorn's father, but does not sway Thorn.
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